In recognition of Veterans Day, people throughout Farmingdale paid tribute to local war heroes last week.

For example, members of Cub Scout Pack 57, Den I, got a firsthand lesson on the meaning behind the holiday, when they invited their grandparents to speak about their war experiences.

Six veterans served as guest speakers for the program, which was held in the La Salle School Cafeteria at 11 a.m. on Nov. 11. Each speaker, who was introduced by his or her grandson, related stories of the challenges and hardships they endured in war, as well as personal reflections on the experience.

"Thank the good Lord that we came home," said Henry Koprowski, who fixed radios as a soldier in World War II. "Many did not come back. ... They understood that our country needed us, and that we had to defend our country for our children and generations to come."

Koprowski, who is Cub Scout Brendan Johnson's grandfather, also described the living quarters during the war. "We had bunk beds twice as high as this ceiling," he said. "You didn't have eggs. You didn't even have milk. You didn't have milk for months." He showed the children the canteen he used for drinking, eating, and washing, as well as the medals he earned.

Harold Vlasak, who also served in World War II, showed the boys his war memorabilia, including a daggar. "I just thank God that I came back," he said.

Alice Romano, grandmother of Frank Jon Romano, told of her experience with the women's branch of the Navy, known as the Women's Auxiliary Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES). While working for a telephone company in Little Falls, Minnesota, in 1944, she was recruited into the WAVES, and served as a pharmacist's mate in hospitals in New York and Maryland.

Albert Kunkel, Frank Jon Romano's great-grandfather, was stationed with the U.S. Army in Germany and Belgium during World War II. He recounted being shot on two occasions in one day.

Lou Cotone, grandfather of Connor Breen, recalled being separated from his wife in their first year of marriage, because he was called to serve in Japan during the Korean War.

Francis Looney, grandfather of Patrick Looney, told of his role in helping to capture German spies as a lieutenant assigned to U.S. military intelligence in World War II. During the three years that he served, the unit arrested 500 German spies. While he acknowledged the accomplishments of his unit, he also lauded those American servicemen who were on the front lines of the war. "Anything we did was minimal to the great sacrifices of the airmen who won the war," he said.

Following the grandparents' speeches, the Scouts presented certificates of appreciation to the veterans, and flowers to their grandmothers.

In addition to the Cub Scout program, a brief memorial ceremony was conducted by the Farmingdale Veterans of Foreign Wars on the Village Green at 11 a.m.